Back On The Blog!

Wow, I cannot believe it's been almost nine months since I last blogged on U-Can-Paleo!!  Needless to say 2012 was a really busy and trying year for us, and then the Holiday Season "snuck" up on us...does it always come at the same time of the year??  Well, now it's almost February 2013 and I'm back blogging about Paleo Living.

Before I get starting talking Paleo I want to fill all of my 9 followers, U guys are the best, about my fitness class that I started last February.  This class originated from discussion I had with a group of friends while we watched the Patriots loose to the freaking G-Men, otherwise known as the NY Giants!  So you can picture the food at the Super Bowl Party, right??  I'm talking nachos, buffalo chicken wings, Doritos, potato chips, pizza, cheese dips, and a veggie platter.  Yes, there definitely was a veggie platter because I remember guarding that platter like it was my job and I ate almost the whole thing!!  Oh, I almost forgot to add beer.  Ah, that's "paleo" friendly when you team is playing.  I read that in Robb Wolf's book The Paleo Solution The Original Human Diet, it was on page 237. Haha -

So, during the party Michelle and I met a few new carpet baggers (haha - love u guys!!) and we welcomed them to Natick, MA.  A lot of my childhood friends were there as well (us Townies seem to never leave or come back..I know, weird!) and someone brought up Crossfit and Paleo, so of course I wanted to hear what they had to say.  One of my friends bought his wife a month membership to a local CF Box for Christmas and she LOVED it, but she couldn't afford the monthly membership.  Another friend joined for a couple of months but was intimidated by the Olympic lifting and the class sizes.  Other friends chirped in the conversation and I just sat and listened.  Basically what I heard was they were looking for a "boot camp" style class with body weight exercises with less than 30 people in a class, and where they can get a great workout in a care free/fun  atmosphere.  This is where I chirped in after letting out a small and nasty belch of veggies....nasty.

I had the location, facility, fitness certification to teach, and some days to make this work.....so the Garage Gym Fitness Class was established 2/2012!  We began with roughly 6-8 members in each class (2 days/week) and now we consistently have 10-16 per class (depending on kids sports schedule...damn kids!!! haha).  Besides the growth in members (with zero advertising), the most important change since last February has been every one's physical and overall health improvements.  One of the members has lost 48 lbs since we started!!  Others have lost a lot of weight and others have added muscle mass and leaned out at the same time!!

With all of these great changes and improvements each member has consciously made to do, they've done this with small to moderate changes to their diets.  Folks, yeah that's right - I just said folks! - there are three major components to being HEALTHY. ( These are not in any specific order)
1.  Nutrition
2.  Fitness
3.  Quality Sleep

If you're getting 2 out of 3 you're spinning your wheels.  Sure, your health will improve if you were only doing 1 of the 3 and then you added another component, but if your goal is to OPTIMIZE your overall health you need to dial in on all 3.  I know, trust me I know, for many of us quality sleep (8-9 hours) is hard to get every night, but how many of us spend time online or watch tv before bed?  I bet some of us spend a few hours looking at FaceBook, Twitter, crossfit videos, youtube.... you get me point, right?  Well, if not, call me and we can chat ;) -

Okay, I'm all over the board here but like I've mentioned in my previous blogs, or if you couldn't tell, my writing skills are sub-par at best, so deal with it!!

So, before I give you guys a GREAT chicken/crock pot recipe I want to invite people to my fitness class (first one's on me!  It's like drugs but healthier!!)at the Garage Gym (Cross Courts 19 Tech Circle in Natick, MA).  Check on the blog for class schedule or you can follow the Garage Gym Fitness Group on FB.

Okay, here's the delicious paleo meal I was talking about!!

Marinade + slow cooker = super tender.

This recipe actually involves making a marinade in your food processor or blender. For those of you willing to take that extra step, I assure you that it will be worth it. This whole chicken recipe works best when you let things marinate overnight. I know, you like easy dump-and-go recipes. You hate food prep and waiting, I know. Don’t fret kids, this recipe will help save you time over the next couple days when you have these delicious leftovers to spice up your salads, lunches, and even breakfast scrambles.

This recipe uses a dry chili rub for the chicken and a wet cilantro lime marinade. This bird will come out of your slow cooker fragrant, moist, and super tender. You won’t be able to lift the bird out in once piece. You can try, but I will be there standing over your shoulder, laughing and mocking you. Well, not really, but you will have a fall-off-the-bone chicken that will set you up for a few days of clean eating. If you’re following a clean eating such as the 21 Day Sugar Detox and want to stay on point, cooking a whole chicken while you’re at work is a great plan of action to take.

  Enjoy!!

Christian